Following Lexie's outburst, the young man who resembled Hendrick quickly approached them. 

“We are sorry. We didn't want to cause a scene. It's them who don't want to listen to reason,” mini Hendrick said as he looked at his brother and then at Jay with some worries.

“Hum. Go on,” Jay said as he turned to look at the weak man who lay behind Louisa and another girl. A few ideas of what could have triggered the argument came to his mind as he observed them further.

‘Brother and sister,’ Jay thought after noting the similarities between Louisa and the man she was protecting. ‘As for the other, a friend or something.’

“Look, the guy behind the two chicks was bitten by a zombie. It is obvious that sooner or later he is going to turn and put everyone in danger. However, they don't ….” mini-Hendrick started explaining as he glared at the group of three that was being surrounded by the other survivors.

“How can you be so sure he is going to turn?” Louisa angrily interrupted while fiercely glaring at mini-Hendrick. 

“How? Isn't this what always happens in movies?” mini-Hendrick replied as if it was the most obvious thing.

As he heard him, Jay couldn’t help but suppress a small chuckle. To be honest, mini-Hendrick wasn’t wrong. Their current circumstances were so unreal that they could as well be in a movie. With things being that way it was indeed tempting to fall back on knowledge originating from them. Still, there was something wrong and funny with the way mini-Hendricks expressed it. 

As for Louisa she clearly didn’t find the situation funny at all. Instead, she seemed extremely irked as she retorted, “We aren't in a movie.”

“And what? It's not like whatever is happening now is normal either. Or could it be that besides being selfish you are also blind?”

“Richard, stop this nonsense.” Hendrick was finally unable to bear this joke much longer and interrupted the banter as he smacked his brother on the head.

“But, brother,” Richard complained weakly, looking unwilling to give up.

“Sorry, for that. I didn't expect he would create so much trouble,” Hendrick said as he looked apologetically at Jay.

“Don’t mind. I think the little guy is just too stressed,” Jay said. “Though, I hope there won’t be a next time. Crystal?” he added as he casually patted Richard's shoulder.

“Hiss. Clear,” Richard winced in pain and hurriedly responded. “Good,” Jay nodded in satisfaction and walked toward Louisa.

As he approached the trio, the crowd automatically parted ways for him, some throwing the trio a look of sympathy. Honestly speaking, the two girls did nothing wrong. They were only unfortunate to find themselves in a bad spot while everyone was still confused and scared. Some wished they could do something to help them but this concerned everyone's safety and they could only watch helplessly as things proceeded.

“You’ll have to kill me if you want to hurt him,” Louisa barked, not even giving Jay the time to speak. From her expression, it was clear that she was ready to protect her brother to her last breath. However, the slight shaking of her hand was enough to betray the tension she was feeling. She could still stand up to Hendrick but with Jay’s intervention things could easily get out of hand.

As someone who first hand witnessed Jay's prowess, she knew there was close to nothing she could do if he tried anything. However, she didn't care. Even if it was a god who stood in front of her, she’d still behave the same way. She wasn’t about to give up on her brother a second time today.

‘Interesting,’ Jay smiled as he saw the burning determination in Louisa’s eyes. He couldn't help but imagine how Jess would have reacted if it was they who found themselves in this situation. ‘She’d probably kill them all before they could even start thinking about hurting me. I hope she is alright,’ he mused, his thoughts drifting to his sister.

“Louisa, right? I just want to talk with your brother. Can I?” Jay requested, trying to look as harmless as possible.

“Louisa, don't worry. It’s going to be fine,” the man who had been silent all this while weakly said.

“Hi….”

“Caleb.”

“Alright, Caleb. How are you feeling?” Jay inquired as he crouched beside the brown-haired man.

“Like a charm,” Caleb replied sarcastically.

“I see. To be honest your situation is pretty special. Nobody here ever dealt with something like this. So I wonder if you have any thoughts to share with us,” Jay asked, not taking Caleb’s behavior to heart.

Upon hearing Jay’s question, Caleb paused briefly. His gaze was filled with unwillingness as he looked at Louisa and Sylvi. A few seconds later, a calm determination filled his eyes as he turned toward Jay and said, “I don’t know. I want to live, but I don’t want to harm Sylvi and Louisa. Do what you need to.”

““Caleb!!”” the two girls exclaimed as they heard Caleb's words.

“Shut up! You have done enough already,” he snapped at the two girls before turning towards Jay and requesting, “Just promise to take care of them.”

“Chuckle. They remind me of a certain family,” Lexie chuckled as she saw the interaction between the three.

“Yeah.” Jay nodded with a smile.

Surprised by their reaction, Caleb, Louisa, and Sylvi, looked at the two trying to understand the situation. The three always thought that Jay would try to get rid of Caleb just like Richard. It seemed the obvious course of action. However, as they saw the smile on Jay and Lexie’s lips, they couldn't help but grow hopeful.

“Alright, there is no need to worry too much. Caleb doesn't need to die any time soon….” Jay told them, his words surprising not only the trio but much of the group too.

“Wh…”

“That is a bad habit you have here,” Jay reprimanded as he looked at Louisa.

“Sorry,” Louisa hurriedly apologized. She knew that it was in her best interest not to anger the one who held their fate in his hands.

“Now, Dr. Smith can you please help me check his wounds,” Jay said as he turned toward the team doctor who he just rescued.

“Yes.” At his words, a beautiful and slightly plump red-haired lady stepped out of the crowd and without a word started checking up on Caleb.

“Alright. With that out of the way we can talk about more serious things,” Jay said as he turned toward his ragtag-like group. “As you all should have noticed, we are in a pretty fucked up situation. Right now, we don't know if we are the only ones affected. But, before further confirmation and considering the system’s words, I think it is safe to assume the rest of the world shares a fate similar to ours.” 

His words elicited a reaction as he started hearing hushed whispers from the group. However, Jay didn't pay attention to them and continued to talk.

“In those conditions, our little group may have to work together for a long time to come. Therefore it's better to set some ground rules to avoid this kind of dumb incident happening once again,” Jay said, not hiding his displeasure with the group’s previous behavior.

“Given the circumstances, I think we can set the first rules. While everything that is happening may seem surreal to you, This is REALITY,” Jay hammered. “Any knowledge coming from fiction’s works, while useful, shouldn't be taken at face value. They aren't true unless proven otherwise. Even our scientific knowledge may not have much value right now, much less the kind of knowledge coming from movies or anything in that vein.”

“Translation: You can't assume one of the creature’s bite to turn someone into one of theirs. Right now we can't even be sure if what our friends and family became are ‘zombies’. The only truth is they are our enemies.” “Any questions?”

“If they aren't zombies, why did you kill them? What if we could have done something to help them later?” someone asked.

“Simple. This, my friend, is what we call ‘cas de force majeure’. It was them or us. Whether they are zombies or not, one thing is sure, they are out for our lives. They are our enemies and have to be dealt with.”

“I'd behave the same even if I was aware that they were still human,” Jay coldly said. “As for the current situation, Caleb’s situation is still uncertain. He isn’t a threat yet. However, if he were to really become one, I’d get rid of him in person.”

“Now, if any of you are unhappy with the way I handle things, you are free to leave,” Jay declared. His words cast a heavy silence over the crowd as survivors exchanged glances. However, after a few seconds, no one stepped forward.

“Nobody? I thought so.” Jay said, not too surprised by this outcome. He was certain that there were some people dissatisfied with the way he just took charge. However, no one was a fool. Jay and the twins were the ones with the strongest combat abilities among all those present. No matter how dissatisfied they were, it was clear that only by sticking with them would their chances of survival increase. Besides, while Jay’s behavior may not be the best, he hadn’t done anything that could be said to be unbearable and most of the survivors were probably adopting a wait-and-see attitude. “Any more questions?” he asked after a few seconds.

“How are we going to deal with Caleb then?” mini Hendrick asked and earned another glare from Louisa. 

“Doc, how is it?” Jay didn't answer his question immediately but first turned toward Dr. Smith to check on her progress. 

“He was lucky. Most of the wounds only reached the muscles. However, he lost too much blood. We need to clean and dress the wounds as soon as possible to avoid any infections. We should have most of what is needed for an initial treatment. But, I can do nothing about the blood loss,” Dr. Smith reported calmly.

“Thank you doc. Do your best first. As for the rest, we will figure it out later,” Jay said with a smile. Then turning toward the crowd, he added, “You heard the doc, right? We are gonna patch him up. Whether he can live through his wounds is up to him. We will also keep an eye on him to make sure nothing goes wrong. I hope everyone is satisfied.”

“Thank you. Thank you so much,” Louisa thanked happily with tears dripping down her eyes before running toward Jay and hugging him.

“Now, don't be happy too soon. I never said we were going to help you for free,” Jay said, promptly stopping Louisa's wanton show of gratitude.

“Now I think it is time to introduce our second rule. One that goes without saying. Since we aren't running a charity, I hope none thought they could idle around and be a deadbeat. Everyone will have to contribute to the effort one way or another. As for how to divide the task, we will talk about it later,” Jay stated as his eyes scanned the crowd. And without surprise, he noticed some individuals who didn't seem to take his words too nicely. However, he didn't pay too much attention to them, just keeping their face to memory. It wouldn't be too late to deal with them if they ever tried to misbehave or to disregard his words.

“Now, Louisa, I hope you understand that your brother is a burden. Healing him will take many resources. The kinds that are particularly precious given our circumstances. Given the urgency of the situation, we don't mind doing what has to be done. However, you'll have to work extra hard to pay us back.” 

“Come on, Jay, cut her some slack. I am sure she understands the situation,” Lexie chimed in with a smile.

“Yes, you already did more than enough when you chose to give my brother this chance. I promise your efforts won't be wasted,” Louisa replied firmly.

“Me too,” Sylvi timidly added.

“I hope so.” Jay grinned at the two. If everything went well, the two could become very useful assets for this team. The kind that would be truly loyal and he could trust with important tasks.

“Now that everything is settled, Damian, you bring some people with you and try to search for supplies. Anything that can be useful is good,” Jay said as he started to give instructions.

“Alright, boss,” Damian replied with a smile.

“Richard, Hendrick, and Sylvi, you go with the doc and help her with anything she may need.”

“Doc, after you are done with Caleb can you please help take a look at the rest.”

“Yes, but I’d like to start with you,” she said, her blue eyes fixed on the bruises that covered Jay’s forearm.

“Oh, this is nothing.” Jay waved his hands as if he didn't care about those wounds.

“Jay!” Lexie glared.

“Alright, mom, I get it. Later then.” Jay said with a smile.

“Louisa, Lucas, you stay here and register everyone along with any skills and competencies they may have.”

“Ok, I'm on it,” Louisa responded.

“Très bien. I have something to do. We will talk about the rest later.” Jay said as he left the crowd. It was time to check on Jess and Sam.